October 11, 2004: Headlines: COS - Romania: NGO's: Service: St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Tony Chamberlain, 41, a Peace Corps volunteer in the city Bistrita-Nasaud Judet, plans to use the books with the students he helps with computer skills and English

Children in Romania want to read books written in English. They see proficiency in English as their way out of poverty. But such books, for them, are hard to find and expensive. Most of the children's families and schools don't have much money. The Central Intelligence Agency says nearly half of the people in Romania live below the poverty line.

So a St. Louis letter carrier, John Korst, 52, has spent much of this year collecting just the kind of used books -- dictionaries, novels, children's books, histories -- that the children need.

More than 4,000 books -- that's more than a ton -- fill his home in Holly Hills, the neighborhood just north of Carondelet Park in St. Louis.

Korst and a friend, Tony Renner, 43, who works for Habitat for Humanity and lives in the South Grand neighborhood, started a charity in January to collect books written in English and send them to students in other countries. Romania is the first country to benefit.

But Korst and Renner have some problems. Right now, their nonprofit group, A Thousand Books, has only two volunteers -- the two of them -- and they lack money to cover mailing costs. It costs roughly $1 a pound to mail the books to Romania.

"We need somebody with some bucks to adopt us," Korst said.

Korst is optimistic. Already, A Thousand Books has mailed about 800 volumes to five Peace Corps projects in Romania. They got most of the books free, as leftovers from yard sales, book fairs and the like. The money for mailing came from Korst's and Renner's pockets and contributions. Korst says he finds it easier to ask for books than for money.

The whole project has been a study in happy coincidence.

It started three years ago, when Korst was looking to take a vacation to somewhere a little exotic. He spends a lot of time on the Internet, and he made some friends in Romania through it. He compares meeting people on the Internet to meeting people in a bar. He talks to some only once, and others become friends.

He ended up making four trips to Romania in the past three years. He met Peace Corp volunteers on the Internet and on his trips. The volunteers told him that they needed books for their students. The volunteers funnel the books into schools, youth groups and libraries.

"I enjoyed the time I spent there, and I wanted to be more than a common tourist," Korst said. "These Peace Corps teachers wanting something I could do was the perfect fit."

Tony Chamberlain, 41, a Peace Corps volunteer in the city Bistrita-Nasaud Judet, plans to use the books with the students he helps with computer skills and English. Bistrita-Nasaud Judet has about 90,000 residents and is the setting for the opening of the story of Dracula.

Chamberlain said knowledge of English could be a step toward a better financial situation. He said that someone who wanted to work with computer software must be able to read manuals, which are usually in published in English. Chamberlain said he would also use the books to help students prepare for tests that certify their proficiency in English. Good marks on those tests are needed to get jobs that require English.

"I work with a lot of people on their English, and the people are always asking for something to read," he said.

Added Korst: "English is the language of commerce, education and tourism. If they are going to expand into the world, they need another language, and the language is English."

Korst also said that pop culture was ubiquitous and that Romanian youngsters' taste in books was much like that of American youngsters'. Harry Potter is one favorite; Harlequin Romances are another. Korst said that he couldn't afford to buy Harry Potter books for the children and that he screened the romances he sent. He said he weeded out those he considered too hot for teenage girls.

He appreciates donations of books such as the Hardy Boys, the Babysitters Club or the Goosebumps series, and he is looking for dictionaries.

"We want them to learn from other sources than pop music on the radio," he said. "God knows, (rap star) Eminem is not a good English teacher."

Korst is betting that A Thousand Books will grow and benefit students in other countries, and he has a message to potential donors who would like to see books go to another country.

"Give us money, and we will send them some books," he said.

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How you can help

A new St. Louis charity organization, A Thousand Books, is working with the Peace Corps to send books to students in Romania who want to learn English. To offer time or money, call 314-771- 9660, send a fax to 314-832-2057,

e-mail: donatebooks@AThousandBooks.org or write to A Thousand Books, care of Tony Renner, 3167A South Grand Ave., St. Louis, 63118. For more information, go to the group's Web site, www.AThousandBooks.org. The group is tax-exempt.

When this story was posted in November 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Kerry reaches out to Returned VolunteersThe Kerry campaign wants the RPCV vote. Read our interview with Dave Magnani, Massachusetts State Senator and Founder of "RPCVs for Kerry," and his answers to our questions about Kerry's plan to triple the size of the Peace Corps, should the next PC Director be an RPCV, and Safety and Security issues. Then read the "RPCVs for Kerry" statement of support and statements by Dr. Robert Pastor, Ambassador Parker Borg, and Paul Oostburg Sanz made at the "RPCVs for Kerry" Press Conference.

RPCV Carl Pope says the key to winning this election is not swaying undecided voters, but persuading those already willing to vote for your candidate to actually go to the polls.

Director Gaddi Vasquez: The PCOL InterviewPCOL sits down for an extended interview with Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. Read the entire interview from start to finish and we promise you will learn something about the Peace Corps you didn't know before.

Schwarzenegger praises PC at Convention Governor Schwarzenegger praised the Peace Corps at the Republican National Convention: "We're the America that sends out Peace Corps volunteers to teach village children." Schwarzenegger has previously acknowledged his debt to his father-in-law, Peace Corps Founding Director Sargent Shriver, for teaching him "the joy of public service" and Arnold is encouraging volunteerism by creating California Service Corps and tapping his wife, Maria Shriver, to lead it. Leave your comments and who can come up with the best Current Events Funny?

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Story Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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